CHICAGO >> It was in the 80s and humid with a threat of late-afternoon thunderstorms Sunday in the Windy City. It felt more like summer than fall, winter or spring. It was perfect hockey weather as far as Kings winger Justin Williams was concerned.

“I love June hockey,” Williams said hours before the Kings faced the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. “June hockey is best. It’s warm out. I mentioned it to Brownie (Kings captain Dustin Brown) on the way in. I said, ‘I love playing in this nice weather.’ We’re almost the only show in town and that makes it special.”

Williams recalled June 11 and 19 as two favorite dates in his hockey career, the memorable nights he and the Kings won the Stanley Cup championship in 2012 and he and the Carolina Hurricanes clinched the Cup in 2006.

“June hockey is good memories,” Williams said.

Pause.

“Most of the time,” he added, smiling.

Game 7 experience

Williams is a go-to guy in Game 7s, what with seven goals and six assists in seven career winner-take-all games after a first-period goal Sunday. His team was 6-0 in the first six Game 7s, including victories in earlier rounds this year over the Sharks and Ducks.

So, he provided a unique perspective on Game 7s.

“There’s one game on tonight, and we’re it,” he said.

Williams agreed with a reporter who suggested the pressure in this Game 7 seemed to be increased a few notches over the last one against the Ducks in Anaheim, which was heightened from the first one against the Sharks in San Jose.

“Seems that way,” he said. “The further along you go, the more intense it is and the more excitement builds within it. You get a chance to give it a go, a chance to play for the ultimate prize yet again and we don’t want to let that slip through our fingers.

“Successful teams rely on the successes they’ve had, and the failures they’ve had, in recent years. We’ve had a lot of successes in Game 7s. Yes, when you look around, we need to have that confidence in the team. We’ve done it and we can do it again.”

Pressure situation

Pressure? What pressure?

“There might be pressure from outside sources,” Williams said. “Within the dressing room, I know if I don’t score a goal tonight, someone’s gonna. And we’re going to be successful that way. We’re not looking for one guy to be great, we’re looking for everyone to be just a little bit better than good.

“One guy can’t carry everybody. We have a lot of individuals on this team who have success and that carries on throughout the whole team. The adage that we need everybody to win is no more important than tonight.”

Rivalry brewing?

The Kings and Blackhawks have played each other in the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, which means a postseason rivalry might be in the works. There weren’t any incidents between players the first six games, but goaltenders Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford did have a trash-talking moment in Game 6.

“Great hockey for sure. Bad blood? The guys are competitive as heck,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’ve seen some big hits in the last few games. Respect is a key.

“But I think there’s a lot of experienced guys that know what it takes to win. Playing the right way is something that we stress. You’ve got to make sure that’s a priority. Bad blood, getting even is on the scoreboard at the end of the night.’’

Road magic

Road teams are 5-1 in Game 7s this postseason, and the Kings are responsible for 40 percent of those road wins, having won Game 7s in San Jose and Anaheim.

“I’d prefer Game 7 as a head coach at home because there might be one time during the game you get (an advantage),” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. “There’s not much advantage in home ice any more other than one change. As I said before, buildings are pretty much the same. You know the glass and boards.

“The officials, this will be the third time we have had this set of officials in this series. They know what’s going on. All those things have become more the same. … I don’t think there’s any luck involved or any of that.”

Typical Sutter

During interviews following the morning skate, a reporter asked Sutter how he would assess the play of his second line. That doesn’t fly for Sutter.

“Ask the question again. Who is that second line?” Sutter asked.

The reporter responded it was Jeff Carter’s line, so Sutter said: “They played pretty well for us.”

Elliott Teaford is an award-winning hockey reporter based in Southern California who covered the L.A. Kings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and in '14, and the Anaheim Ducks' Cup win in 2007. He grew up playing outdoors on the streets of Philadelphia. He also watched the Flyers bully their way to consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1970s, and makes no excuses for their quasi-legal play.

Elliott Teaford is an award-winning hockey reporter based in Southern California who covered the L.A. Kings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and in '14, and the Anaheim Ducks' Cup win in 2007. He grew up playing outdoors on the streets of Philadelphia. He also watched the Flyers bully their way to consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1970s, and makes no excuses for their quasi-legal play.

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